When Trevor Linden shows up at a fitness club he co-owns, selfies will be taken, autographs signed and hockey memories shared with (and by) the former Vancouver Canucks great.
In Surrey, the Club 16/She's Fit location at Central City has been renovated and reopened, reason for Linden's appearance there Tuesday afternoon (May 27) during a special event.
The 19,400-square-foot fitness facility, first opened in 2013 and today among 17 locations in the Surrey-based chain, now has fewer cardio machines and added emphasis on weight training and strength equipment, to reflect changing consumer wants and needs.
"We added a large functional area with turf and a personal training area, so those are big changes," Linden told the Now-Leader. "We're adding a lot of strength equipment into both sides, in She's Fit and also the co-ed side. The space hasn't physically gotten bigger, but there'll be more utility for our members which we're really excited about."
Other new features include matrix cardio equipment, new rubber flooring in the women-only gym, infrared sauna, red-light therapy and more, with additional workout gear on the way.
Fitness trends were different 15 years ago when Linden first got into the business, not long after he retired from playing NHL hockey.
"Our floors looked pretty different then, and now we're reflecting the needs of the way people train today," said #16. "For example, in our She's Fit facilities, you know, it's incredible. The old-school thought 15 years ago was lots of cardio, lots of cardio. Now it's no, women want to push weight as they should, just as much as men do. We're reflecting that on our weight floors, and it's a company-wide initiative, not just Central City, so we're excited about that."
Linden's workouts, too, have changed with the times over the years, dating back to his late-1980s days as a rookie Canuck forward.
"In my hockey career I was always a hard worker, always diligent, always trying to be cutting-edge on the training side of it," Linden explained. "But it was something I had to do, you know what I mean? Like, I gotta do this. As I went through my career it became something that I enjoyed doing, and I realized how lucky I was to be able to spend the summer training."
"Now my son is seven, and turns eight this summer," Linden elaborated. "I gotta say, before he came along I was spending a lot of time on the bike in the summer, both the mountain bike and the road bike, you know. I will say I don't spend as much time on the biking, quite honestly. I pushed a lot of weight when I played hockey because that was part of my training program. I stopped and did a lot of aerobic stuff and anaerobic — bike, mountain bike, trail running, cross country skiing. But now I've really gravitated back into the resistance training and the strength training. But I mix it up."
After retirement from pro hockey in 2008, working out became something Linden liked and needed to do for his mental health and physical well-being. Fitness, he says, made (and makes) him a better husband, friend, father and co-worker.
Linden said he prefers working out at one the clubs that carry his name, rather than home-gym time.
"I kind of pick and choose (locations) but yeah, it's great for me because I love being with the team and spending time with them and also getting feedback from the members, too. That's valuable," he said.
"I don't think I'm a home gym type of person because I look at it as a bit of a social outing and and a place to go. If I had a gym in my own house I'd probably be too distracted with all the other things I needed to do and not get much of a workout done."
This week Linden has kept an eye on the Memorial Cup junior hockey tournament and the consecutive round-robin wins of his home-town Medicine Hat Tigers, with whom he won back-to-back national championships in 1987 and 1988.
He likes what he sees in the Gavin McKenna-led team, backstopped by South Surrey goaltender Harrison Meneghin and coached by former Canucks bench boss Willie Desjardins.
"My parents live in Medicine Hat still, which is awesome," Linden said. "My mom is an avid fan and they have a pretty special team this year, obviously, with McKenna headlining that. It's great to see Willie back at the Memorial Cup, too, and I was at the last two Willie was at, in 2004 in Kelowna and 2007 in Vancouver. The only thing I worry about them going to the final (Sunday, June 1) is them sitting around waiting for that game. They qualified last night, I think, (Tuesday), and now they wait quite a few days. But that's part of it and we'll see how it plays out."
